Bag forming and inserting mechanism



Feb. 14, 1961 H. E. ENGLESON ETAL 2,971,442

BAG FORMING AND INSERTING MECHANISM l0 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 28,1955 @MW 3 m m 4 NL l GA k} w WNR 5 I I E s 4 r p 7 ED I l R 5 F m E 1...1 t: l 3.; if

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ATT'YS Feb. 14, 1961 ENGLESON ETAL 2,971,442

BAG FORMING AND INSERTING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 28, 1955 10 Sheets-Sheet2 INVENTORS: HARRY E.ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK Feb. 14, 1961 H. E.ENGLESON ETAL 2,971,442

BAG FORMING AND INSERTING MECHANISM l0 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 28,1955 INVENTORSI w M w E r M A R s ED YR RE RM AL HE Feb- 14, 19 1 H. E.ENGLESON ETAL 2,971,442

BAG FORMING AND INSERTING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 28, 1955 10 Sheets-Sheet4 INVNIORS: HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK ATT'YS Feb- 14, 19 1 H. E.ENGLESON ETAL 2,971,442

BAG FORMING AND INSERTING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 28, 1955 10 Sheets-Sheet5 INVENTORS. HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK Feb. 14, 1961 ENGLESQNETAL 2,971,442

BAG FORMING AND INSERTING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 28, 1955 10 Sheets-Sheet6 INVENTORS; HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK ATT'YS H. E. ENGLESON ETAL 2,971,442

BAG FORMING AND INSERTING MECHANISM Feb. 14, 1961 10 Sheets-Sheet 8Filed Nov. 28, 1955 INVENTORS HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK Feb- 14,19 1 H. E. ENGLESON ETAL 2,971,442

BAG FORMING AND INSERTING MECHANISM 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Nov. 28,1955 INVENTORS: HARRY E. ENGLESON ELMER D. SRAMEK Feb. 14, 1961 H. E.ENGLESON ETAL 2,971,442

BAG FORMING AND INSERTING MECHANISM l0 Sheets-Sheet 10 Filed Nov. 28,1955 INVENTORS:

ON EK HARRY E. EN ELMER D. SR

Unite 6 Claims. (CI. 93-12) This invention relates to packagingmachines, and more particularly to apparatus associated with a conveyerfor forming bag containers and for inserting them into cardboardcartons. I

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved method andapparatus for receiving sheets of bag forming material by folding thematerial around a rectilinear form mounted on a conveyer and thenheating and chilling the material at places of overlay to bond the seamsto form a bag container, the formed bag container being broken free ofthe form, the bag being stripped from the form and finally inserted intoa cardboard carton which is carried on the conveyer.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved method formechanically forming a bag container wherein a sheet of wax impregnatedmaterial is held in a clamped position, folded about a form and isoverlapped in a vertical seam on the face of the form; the overlappedseam thence being heated, chilled, and broken free from the form.

I Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for formingbags and inserting them into cardboard cartons; the bags beingsubstantially rectangular with wide front and rear faces and withcomparatively narrow side faces; each bag to he formed with a verticaloverlapped seam on its front face thereby providing a double thicknessof material to reinforce the front face and stiffen the bag generally;such double thickness of material on a face functioning to stiffen thebag even though the seam should be defectively bonded and therebypermitting even the defectively formed bags to be stripped from the formand inserted into a carton to avoid jamming of the machine,

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved form having asubstantially rectilinear body for forming bag containers, said formhaving an insert strip slidably mounted along a front face and having afoot plate positioned across the bottom and movable with the insertstrip; said insert strip being adapted to move relative to the body ofthe form and thereby to break a formed bag container free from the form.

A further object is to provide an improved circular conveyer having awheel structure for supporting conveyer attachments and having a ringstructure mounted to rotate about the same axis as the wheel structure;the ring structure having other conveyer attachments and being geared torotate at the same speed and in synchronism with the wheel structure,thereby permitting the attachments on the wheel structure to cooperatewith the attachments on the ring structure and whereby other apparatusmay extend through the ring structure of the conveyor withoutinterfering with the rotation thereof.

A more complete understanding of the present invention, its mode ofoperation and its advantages may be gathered from further reading ofthis specification together with an inspection of the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic representation illustrating in pro ttes ate"gression the successive steps in which a bag container is formed andthence inserted into a cardboard carton;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the various positions of thecardboard cartons as they move along a continuously moving straightconveyer, are transferred to and move around an intermittently movingcircular conveyer, and are returned to the straight conveyer;

Pig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the steps in the forming of a bagcontainer on the intermittently moving conveyer;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a continuouslymoving straight conveyer, a portion of an intermittently moving circularconveyer, and the mechanism for transferring cardboard cartons. from oneconveyor into the other;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the circular conveyer particularlyillustrating the wheel structure and ring structure thereof and thedriving mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a graphical representation showing a development of the camfor driving the conveyer with intermittent motion;

Fig. 7 is a top View of the circular conveyor together with a portion ofthe straight conveyor and illustrating particularly the guide and clampattachments for guiding sheets of material to a position beside therectilinear forms and for clamping them in that position;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view along the plane tl2i of Pig. 7,particularly illustrating the guide and clamp mechanism;

i Fig. 9 is a topview of a stationary cam positioned within the circularconveyer to operate the clamp members;

Fig. 10 is a vertical section of the circular conveyer along the planeiii-iii of Fig. 7;

Fig. 11 is a horizontal section of the circular conveyer along the planeill-11 of Fig. 10 and particularly illustrating the various rectilinearforms positioned thereon;

' Fig. 12 is a fragmentary perspective view along the plane 12-12 ofFig. 11 and particularly illustrating the mechanism for engaging andmoving a strip insert along the front face of the rectilinear forms;

Fig. 13 is a vertical section along the plane 1313 of Fig. 11 andillustrating the mechanism for stripping the bag container from therectilinear form and for inserting the bag container into a cardboardcarton;

Fig. 14 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 13 and illustrating thestripper mechanism in a lowered position;

Fig. 15 is an enlarged vertical section along the broken line 1515 ofFig. 13 and illustrating the pivotabmounting of the stripper fingers;

Fig. 16 is a horizontal section along the plane 16-16 of Fig. 10 andparticularly illustrating the mechanism for folding the bottom of thebag container and for heating and chilling the bottom to bond the bag;

Fig. 17 is a horizontal sectional view of a bag container illustratingthe manner of folding thereof as is accomplished by the apparatus ofthis invention;

Fig. 18 is a horizontal section along the plane 18-18 of Fig. 10illustrating structure for supporting and for driving the ring structureof the circular conveyer;

Fig. 19 is a vertical section along the plane 19-19 of Fig. 18 showingonly the stationary rail upon which the cardboard cartons rest;

' Fig. 20 is a vertical section along the plane 20-40 of Fig. 18 andshowing only a portion of a movable member for raising the cardboardcartons from a first supporting rail to a second rail at a higher level;

Fig. 21 is a vertical section along the plane 21-21 of Fig. 18 showing atypical support bracket for the rotatable ring forming a lower part of acircular conveyer;

Figs. 22, 23, 24, and 25 are schematic diagrams Patented Feb. 14, 1961 3illustratingin progression the successive steps of forming a bagcontainer about a rectilinear form;

Fig. 26 is a fragmentary perspective view along the plane 26-26 of Fig.18 illustrating a supporting bracket upon which the circular ringrotates;

Fig. 27 is a fragmentary perspective view along the plane 2727 of Fig.16 illustrating particularly the mechanism for engaging and operatingthe insert slide and the foot plate of the rectilinear form;

Fig. 28 is an enlarged detail of a part of Fig. 27; and

Fig. 29 is a fragmentary perspective view taken along the plane 2929 ofFig. 18 and illustrating the mechanism for raising the cardboard cartonsfrom the first supporting rail to the second rail, a rectilinear formmoving on the conveyer, and members for guiding bag containers as theyare stripped from the forms and lowered into the cartons.

The particular packaging machine illustrated by the drawings comprises afirst conveyer 1 which moves continuously along a single direction asindicated by the arrow 2 (Figs. 1 and 2); and a circular conveyer 3which moves intermittently in a direction indicated by the arrows 4. Aplurality of cardboard cartons 5 are initially carried by thecontinuously moving conveyer and move through the positions indicated byIV (Figs. 1 and 2); and thence are transferred-by a mechanism, to bedescribed later, to the circular conveyer 3. The conveyer 3 moves eachcarton in steps through all of the stations A through L; and thenceanother transfer mechanism, to be described later, moves the carton fromstation L on the circular conveyer 3 to the position VI on the conveyer1 from which the carton continues to move to the left (Figs. 1 and 2).The circular conveyer 3 receives sheets of wax impregnated material,forms therefrom bag containers, and inserts them into the cartons wherethey constitute inner liners. When the cartons are returned to theconveyer 1 at position VI (Figs. 1 and 2), each carton contains a bagliner formed and sealed at the bottom and along the face thereof butopen at the top for filling. Subsequently the conveyer 1 carries thecartons to stations where they are to be filled; the bag liner is thencefolded closed, and the carton is closed.

Bag forming operation The method by which a bag container is formed andinserted into a cardboard carton may be understood by referring to Fig.3 which shows schematically the various positions around the circularconveyer 3. The circular conveyer 3 supports twelve forms 6 which aresubstantially rectilinear in shape and each of which moves sequentiallythrough all of the stations or positions A through L. Fig. 3 is adevelopment in which the various circular conveyer stations are shownperspectively in a straight line, stations H through L being acontinuation of the line'of stations A through G.

In station A a sheet of wax impregnated material 7 is guided into aposition adjacent to the leading side of the form 6 and a clamp member 8moves against the waxed material 7, holding it secure against the form6. In station B the form 6 moves past a brush 9 which is mounted in afixed position adjacent to and inside of the circular conveyer 3. Thebrush folds the bag forming material 7 flat against the rear face of therectilinear form 6 as the form moves past the position of the brush.When the form 6 moves to station C, a side folding member 10 folds thematerial 7 outwardly along the trailing side of the form 6 from the rearface thereof; thence a pair of front folding members 11 and 12 moveacross the front face of the form and fold the bag forming material 7and overlap it in a vertical seam along the front face.

The method by which the material is folded and overlapped around theforms might be better understood by referring to Figs. 22, 23, 24, and25. In Fig. 22, a sheet of material 7 is clamped against the leadingside of the form 6 which is moving past the stationary brush 9. In Fig.23 the material 7 has been wiped across the rear face of the form 6 bythe brush 9, and as the form 6 dwells in station C (Fig. 2), the sidefolding member 10 moves outwardly wiping the material across thetrailing side of the form. Fig. 24shows the side folding member 10 atthe end of its outward movement, and the first front folding member 11moving and folding the material 7 across the front of the form 6 fromthe trailing side thereof. In Fig. 25, the second front folding member12 moves and folds the material across the front from the leading sideof the form 6.

Both of the front folding members 11 and 12 are wedge-shaped to permitcooperation therebetween such that the material will be overlapped alonga vertical seam overlying a slide insert strip 27 in the front face ofthe form 6, the operation of which will be described later. Asillustrated in Figs. 22, 23, 24, and 25, the form 6 may be generally ofrectilinear cross section, but having that. part of the front faceincluding the insert strip 27 thick-' ened and protruding somewhat. Thevertical seam overlies the thickened portion and is, therefore, in aposition exposed for subsequent heating and chilling operations.

Referring again to Fig. 3 for further description of the steps of bagforming, it will be noted that the bag material is wrapped about thesides and faces of the, form in stations B and C. Also in station C, a'rotatablyv the bottom of the form moves in close proximity to it,

When the form arrives at station D, it is encased by the bag formingmaterial on the four faces and sides, and the bottom is folded inwardlyfrom both the leading and trailing sides. A heating element 16, mountedclosely adjacent to the conveyer at station D, heats the overlapped seamon the front face of the form and softens the wax therein. A bottom flapfolding member 17 is mounted in a fixed position and has a diagonal edgewhich engages the rearmost bottom flap and folds it forwardly as theform moves over the diagonal edge thereof.

A chilling plate 18 is positioned adjacent to the conveyer at station Esuch that it will come in contact and chill the front face and hardenthe wax of the bag forming material. The chilling plate 18 hasconnections 19 and 19' which are adapted to be connected for the flow ofa cooling fluid, such as water, to remove heat and provide a flatchilling surface adjacent to the vertical form.

A bottom heating element 20 moves from the front to the rear at thebottom of the form at station F, and

performs a dual function of making a bottom fold rearwardly from thefront face and heating the folded and overlapped material, softening thewax therein at the bottom of the form. A second chilling plate 2.1 ispositioned beneath the conveyer at station G and the bottom of theformed bag container is chilled thereby to bond the softened wax.Connections 22 and 22' are provided to admit and expel the cooling fiuidfor re moval of heat. Thus, by successive steps from stations A to F, asheet of bag forming material 7 has been formed into a bag 23 appearingon the form at station F.

Break-free operation As the form moves to position G, a cold metal plate24 is urged upwardly by springs 25 against the bottom of the bag. Asecond spring loaded base plate 26 is positioned to press upwardlyagainst the bag form as it comes into position H. The plates 24 and 26hold the. bottom of the bag 23 firmly as the wax in the bag form-. ingmaterial hardens and the plate 26 further supports the bag as it isbroken free from the form 6. In position H an insert strip 27 isoperated for the purpose of breaking the formed bag free from the form,and this operation is accomplished in two steps as is shownschematically in Fig. 3 as H; and H both of which operations occur whenthe form 6 and bag 23 dwell in station H between the intermittentmovements of the conveyer 3.

The insert strip 27 is slidably mounted in and extends vertically alongthe face of the form 6 (Fig. 3). A stud 28 extends outwardly therefromfor engagement with the break-free mechanism to be described later. Afoot plate 29 is attached to and movable with the insert strip 27. Atthe beginning of the break-free operations, as shown at H in Fig. 3, theclamp 8 moves away from the form 6 to release the side of the bag 23,and the strip insert 27 with the attached foot part 29 moves upwardly.By this upward movement, the vertical seam of the bag container isbroken free from the insert strip 27 on the front face of the form 6 andsimultaneously the bottom folds are likewise broken free from the footplate 29. Subsequently, but during the same interval of conveyer dwell,at H in Fig. 3, the insert strip is moved downwardly such that the footpart 29 descends to an extreme downward position clamping against thespring loaded bottom plate 26 and pulling the bag container free fromthe remaining parts of the form 6.

Stripping operation The operation of removing or stripping the bagcontainer 23 from the rectilinear form 6 and inserting it into acardboard carton 5 is accomplished in successive steps at stations I, Iand K. In station I the cardboard carton 5, positioned under the bag 23,is raised slightly, and the bag 23 is lowered somewhat and guided intothe carton 5. In stations I and K the bag containeris lowered insuccessive steps such that the bag container 23 is ultimately positionedwithin the cardboard carton 5 with the upper ends open for filling. Thecardboard carton 5, containing the bag container 23, is then transferredto position VI on the continuously moving conveyer 1 which then carriesthe carton and the bag away to the right through position VII, as isindicated by the direction arrow 2 (Fig. 3).

Transfer mechanism Fig. 4 illustrates the mechanism for transferring thecardboard cartons 5 from the continuously moving straight conveyer 1 tothe circular, intermittently moving conveyor 3 and vice versa. Theconveyer 1 contains a plurality of buckets 36 or special holders adaptedto receive and carry the cardboard cartons 5. As a carton 5 is carriedalong the conveyer 1, it is intercepted by a transfer member having anarm 31 adapted to receive and hold the top flaps of the cardboardcarton. As the top of the carton 5 is received by the intercept member31, a pusher member 31 engages the bottom of the carton. The two members31 and 31 then move in a direction transverse to the conveyer 1 (to theleft in Fig. 4), and the carton is then seated in a pocket 32 of thecircular conveyer 3. Movement of the members 31' and 31' is accomplishedthrough linkage to a pair of gears 33 and 33, both of which turn withthe same speed of rotation and in the direction indicated by the arrow34. Power is applied to the gears 33 and 33 from a common drive gear 35which may be mechanically coupled to a main drive shaft (not shown) ofthe machine. The gears 33 and 33' each have an upstanding stud member 36and 36 mounted to drive a member 37 with a reciprocating motion Whilemaintaining the member 37 parallel to its initial position which istransverse with the movement of the conveyer 1. The member 37 is rigidlyconnected to the carton intercepting members 31 and 31' such that theparallel reciprocating motion is imparted thereto.

A second transfer mechanism, also illustrated in Fig. 4, is adapted toreceive the cartons from the final station of the circular conveyer 3and to move them into the buckets 3 of the conveyer 1. A pair of cartonreceiving members 38 and 39 are positioned to receive and hold thecarton at the top and bottom thereof. The carton holders 38 and 39 thenmove about a pivot 40 as a push-pull link 41 moves a bell crank member42. Any carton within the holder is thereby carried to a position withina bucket 34) of the conveyer Both transfer mechanisms shown in Pig. 4are coupled by conventional means to the main drive shaft (not shown) ofthe packaging machine and, therefore, the gear 35 and the push-pull link41 operate in synchronism with both the conveyer 1 and the conveyer 3.

Circular conveyer and drive mechanism The general structure and themeans for driving the circular conveyer with an intermittent motion isillus trated in Fig. 5. The circular conveyer comprises generally anupper mounting structure 43 whereon the bag containers are formed, anintermediate structure 44 on which the cardboard cartons 5 are carried,and a lower driving wheel 45. The upper structure 43 is essentially awheel and contains twelve arms 46, each being an angle iron with an endplate adapted to support a rectilinear form such that the form will hangdownwardly therefrom and have its faces, sides and bottom free fromsupporting attachments. The upper wheel structure 43 of the circularconveyer 3 is mounted and supported by a vertical shaft 47 and is drivendirectly from the lower drive Wheel 45. The lower drive wheel 45 hasdownwardly extending studs 48 which are engageable with a worm cam 49.As the drive worm 49 is rotated, as indicated by the direction arrow 50,successive pins 48 are engaged thereby rotating the lower drive ring inthe direction of the arrows 51. The drive worm 49 contains a helicaldrive portion extending around less than half of the circular arc of theworm. As the drive Worm 49 rotates through the remainder of its arc, thedrive wheel 45 remains in a stationary position.

Fig. 6 represents graphically a development of the drive worm 49 andillustrates the manner in which the conveyer 3 will move as the driveworm 49* is rotated through 360. Since the first portion a of thedevelopment curve is flat, the conveyer 3 dwells in a stationaryposition as the drive worm 49 rotates through the first of arc. From thesecond portion 15 of the curve of Fig. 6, it may be seen that as thedrive worm 49 continues to rotate from the 90 point to the point, theconveyer is accelerated, and as the drive worm 49 continues to rotatefrom the 180 point to the 270 point, the conveyer is decelerated. Thecurve at c is fiat, and, therefore, the conveyer 3 will dwell as thedrive Worm 45! rotates from the 270 point to the 360 point, and thenceto the 90 point of the neXt succeeding revolution.

Since the function of the circular conveyer is to form bag containersand thence to insert them into cartons held at a lower level, it isnecessary that the conveyer have the upper supporting structure 43 forholding the rectilinear forms 6 and further have the carton holdingstructure 44 positioned substantially below the structure 43. A verticalshaft 52 is needed to drive a bottom tucker member 13 to make a fold inthe bottom of the bag container 23, and since this vertical shaft ismost conveniently positioned to extend upward through the intermediatestructure 44 of the conveyer 3, it is obvious that the structure 44cannot be a wheel with spokes or such extending inwardly to the shaft47.

A circular ring 53, having internal teeth 57 thereon, is driven by agear 54 mounted on a vertical shaft 55 and, in turn, driven from thebottom drive structure 45 by means of another gear 56. The gears 54 and56 are of the same size and have the same number of teeth such thatcircular ring 53 will turn at the same speed and in 7 synchronism withthe lower drive wheel 45 and the upper part of the conveyer 43.

The supporting structure for the center conveyer ring 44 may be seen inFigs. 18 and 21. In Fig. 18, which is a horizontal section through thecircular conveyer, the relation between the internal teeth 57 and thedrive gear 54v is illustrated, and the ring structure 44 rests at threepoints about the circumference thereof on roller brackets 58, 59 and 60.The structure of the bracket 59, which is typical of the three, isdetailed in the vertical section of Fig. 21. The roller support bracket59 is arranged with a support roller 61 mounted to rotate about ahorizontal axis and positioned to support the ring structure 44 whichrests thereon. A second roller 62 is rotatably mounted on a verticalaxis and serves as a guide, engaging the ring structure 44 to hold thering structure in a proper rotatable position. The ring structure 44which contains the internal gear 57 also provides a mounting for theconveyer attachments such as the pockets 32 for receiving the cardboardcartons 5.

The roller support bracket 59 is shown in perspective in Fig. 26. Thebracket 59 is therein shown attached to afixed stationary mounting 63and having thereon the support roller 61 and the guide roller 62. Thecombination of the three roller support points 58, 59 and 60 (Fig. 18)provides the intermediate ring structure 44 with a stable, rotatablemounting; and the driving arrangement for the ring structure permits thevarious parts of the circular conveyer 3 to rotate as a unit. Therefore,the conveyer attachments on the ring structure 44 may move in acooperative relation with the attachments on the wheel structure 43, andthe center Within the ring structure 44 is free from supporting spokesor the like, permitting the center space to be utilized by mechanismssuch as the bottom tucker drive shaft 52.

Bag forming apparatus The first of the bag forming operations is thereceiving of sheets 7 of wax impregnated paper, or metal foil havinglayers of wax impregnated paper on one side thereof; and the guiding ofthese sheets 7 into a position adjacent to the rectilinear forms 6. Theapparatus for receiving the sheets of bag forming material isillustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. A sheet 7 of material, which haspreviously been cut from a roll of such material, moves downwardly froma position above the upper wheel structure 43 of the conveyer 3 and isguided by paper guides 64 into a position occupied by the sheet 7 shownin the upper part of Fig. 7. The paper guides 64 (see Fig. 8) aremounted on a horizontal arm 65 which is pivoted about a vertical axis at66 on the conveyer 3. The clamp member 8 is mounted on the paper guidestructure 65 with springs 67 such that when the horizontal arm 64 ispivoted the clamp member 8 comes into firm engagement with the leadingside of the rectilinear form 6. The paper guide members 64 serve theirfunction as they are moved by the conveyer 3 through a plane indicatedby the dashed line 68 at the top of Fig. 7. At that point a sheet ofmaterial 7 drops and is guided by the guide members 64. The horizontalarm 65 constitutes one arm of the bell crank pivoted at the point 66 onthe conveyer and moved by a stationary cam 69 as the other arm of thebell crank carrying a cam roller 70 engages the cam.

Fig. 9 illustrates the specific cam 69 which is mounted in a stationaryposition by a bracket 71. The vertical shaft 47 supporting the wheelstructure 43 extends through an opening 72 in the cam 69 and does notengage the cam.

The cam 69 operates the clamp 8 as the conveyer 3 rotates such that theclamp will close and hold the sheet of material 7 as the rectilinearform 6 moves through all of the stations B through G (Fig. 2) whichappear on the left side of Fig. 7. The clamp 8 opens, releasing theformed bag 23, after the form 6 has progressed to the station H shown atthe lower right side of Fig. 7.-

Fig. 11 is a horizontal section of the conveyer 3 showing the forms 6 insection and showing some of the apparatus for forming the bag containers23 according to the previously described method; The operation of theclamp 8 is best illustrated in Fig. 11 where it may be seen in an openposition at station A for receiving a sheet of material 7; and clampedin station B and clamped in the subsequent stations through G; andthence in an open position in station H and the remaining stations.

In station C the forms 6 move into operative relation with the brush 9,the side folding member 10, and the front folding members 11 and 12; andFig. 11 illustratesthe positioning of these folding elements withrelation to the conveyer and to each other. The brush 10 is mounted in afixed position on the frame of the machine. The side; folding member 10is mounted on an arm 73 and pivoted about a point 74. The horizontal arm73 is positioned at a level substantially lower than the form 6 suchthat there will be no interference therebetween. The side folding member10 extends upward from the horizontal arm 73 such that it may move inclose proximity across the trailing side of the form 6 as the formdwells in position C. The front folding member 11 is held by an arm 75and pivoted about a point 76, and moves forwardly across the face of theform 6. Thence a second front folding member 12 mounted on an arm 77 andlikewise pivoted at the point 76, moves rearwardly across the front faceof the form 6.

Fig. 11 further illustrates the positioning of the heating plate 16 andthe chilling plate 18 with respect to the conveyer 3 and the forms 6mounted thereon. As has previously been discussed, the heating andchilling plates 16 and 18 function to soften and then to harden and bondthe wax in the overlapped seam on the front face of bagcontainer 23.Because this seam is overlapped on the exposed front face of the form,the heating and chilling devices may be mounted in a stationary positionand may extend over more than one station of the conveyer 3 to remain inoperative contact with the bag forming material for as long a time asmay be required. This proves to be advantageous over other heating andchilling devices that must complete their operating cycle during asingle interval of dwell of the conveyer.

As has previously been discussed, the bottom of the bag container istucked, folded and bonded by heating and chilling operations; thestructure of the bottom folding members and the heating and chillingplates 20 and 21 is best illustrated in Fig. 16. The first step intucking and folding the bottom of the bag container is accomplished bythe rotating bottom tucking member 13 which folds the material forwardlyacross the bottom from the trailing side. is rotated and driven by apair of pinion gears 78 and 79 and driven from the vertical shaft 52.The bottom tucking member 13 folds the material into a tuck 13' (seeFig. 17) across the bottom of the bag container. The second bottomtucking member 15 remains stationary in a position below the conveyer 3and engages the material from the leading side of the form 6, folding itinwardly across the bottom as the form moves on the conveyer. The bottomtucking member 15 folds the tuck 15' as shown in Fig. 17. The bottomflap folding member 17 is fixed in a stationary position below the conveyer and has a diagonal edge that engages the rearward bottom flap,moving itforwardly across the bottom as the form 6 moves over the member17. In Fig. 17 the flap 17' was folded forwardly from the rear by thebottom folding member 17.

As the form 6 moves into position E (see Fig. 16), a platform member 80at the level of the bottom of the form is positioned immediately belowthe form and retains the three previous folds 13', 15' and 17 in aposition flat against the bottom of the form. While the form 6 dwells inposition E, a supporting member 81 moves rearwardly carrying with it theplatform member 80 and the bottom heating element 20. As the heatingelement The bottom tucking member 13 9 20 moves rearwardly across thebottom of the form, the last fold 20' is made upon the bag container andthence all of the overlapped portions at the bottom of the bag areheated by the heating element 20 to soften the wax therein. Thesupporting member 81 which carries the platform 80 and the heating plate20 moves with a reciprocating motion and is supported by a pair ofpivotal arms 82 and 83 pivotally mounted at points 84 and 85respectively on a stationary part of the machine. The arm 83 constitutesone leg of a bell crank which has a second leg 86 supporting a camroller 87, The cam roller 87 is mounted to extend upwardly into a camgroove cut into the underside of a gear member 88. A gear 89, secured tothe shaft 52, drives the gear and cam member 88, thereby reciprocatingthe bell crank 83-86, he member 81, and the platform 80 and heater plate20.

Fig. 16 also shows the positioning of the bottom watercooled chillingplate 21 as well as the spring-loaded cool ing plates 24 and 26.

As previously mentioned, the rectilinear form 6 is supported by theupper wheel structure 43 and extends downwardly therefrom. The form issubstantially rectilinear, although the various sides and faces thereofare not flat but may contain grooved depressions. As may be seen fromthe cross sections of the form illustrated in Fig. 11, the front andrear faces contain ribs and grooves which facilitate the strippingoperation to be discussed later. The leading and trailing sides may eachcontain a deep and extensive groove which serves to effect an economy ofmanufacture and to reduce the weight thereof by eliminating excessmetal. The various grooves further serve to decrease the surface areawhich will come into contact with the waxed material in the process ofbag forming. Since the heating and chilling of the bag seams causes thewax to soften and to bond the seams together, and further causes thewaxed ma terial to bond to the form itself, it is desirable to limit thearea of contact between the form and the material and to thereby reducethe bonding elfect between the form and the bag container 23. The form 6is also provided with the insert strip 27 extending vertically along thefront face thereof (see Fig. 27). The insert strip 27 and a foot plate29 at the bottom of the form are attached together as a single unit andare adapted to slide upwardly and downwardly within the body of the form6. The bottom of the form with the foot plate extending downwardtherefrom may be seen in Fig. 29.

Break-free apparatus The operation of breaking the formed bag free fromthe form is accomplished by moving the insert strip 27 together with thefoot plate, first upwardly and then downwardly from the normal positionof rest within the form. The means for providing such movement isillustrated in Fig. 27 which shows in perspective a single form movingto a position whereby the stud 28, protruding from the insert strip 27,is about to go into operative engagement with a movable slideway 9%. Themovable slideway (see Fig. 12) contains upper and lower guide members inspaced relation, forming a horizontal open ended slot therebetween. Theslideway 90 is mounted on an arm 91 to pivot about a point 92, the pivot92 being held fixed by stationary structure 93 constituting a part ofthe frame of the machine. A link member 94 is attached to the arm 91 andis thus adapted to move the slideway 9-9 both upwardly and downwardly.The lower extremity of the link 94 (see Figs. and 27) is pivotallyconnected to an arm 95 which may be coupled by means of cams, etc. tothe main drive shaft (not shown) of the packaging machine and will,therefore, move in synchronism with the movements of the conveyor 3 andwith the forms 6 thereon.

As the form 6 moves into station H for the break-free operation, thestud 28 moves into the slideway 90 and the bottom of the form ispositioned over a movable base plate 26 (see Figs. 27 and 28). As theslideway i6 is raised, raising the insert strip 27 and the foot plate 29of the form, the base plate 26 is likewise urged upward against thebottom of the form and held by the force of a spring 96 (Fig. 27) oralternatively by springs 97 (Fig. 28). Thus, the bottom of the bagcontainer 23 is clamped and secured to the bottom corners of the form sto prevent the bag from tearing as the foot plate of the form recedesupwardly between the corner portions thereof. In the subsequent downwardmovement of the link 94, whereby the insert strip and foot part arelowered to an extreme position, the base plate 26 de scends to a lowerlevel permitting the bag container 23 to descend slightly on the form asit is broken free thereof.

Stripper apparatus After the formed bag container 23 has been brokenfree from the form 6 (see Fig. 11), it is carried by the form into threesubsequent stations I, J and K, where the bag is stripped downwardly ofiof the form 6 and inserted into the cardboard carton 5 positionedthereunder. in each of the stripper stations, a plurality of stripperfingers 93 engage the top edge of the formed bag 23 from the front andrear faces of the form 6 and pull the bag downwardly. The stripperfinger apparatus is illustrated in Figs. 13, 14 and 15, which showparticularly the action of the second or intermediate set of strippersat station I. These particular strippers are typical of all threestations and are the only ones to be shown and described in detailherein.

The stripper fingers 98 are formed integral with vertical supportingshanks 99 which are pivotally mounted on support brackets 1% (Figs. 13and 14). The support brackets 1% are mounted upon slide members 101 (seeFig. 11) and adapted to move upwardly and downwardly carrying all of thestripper assemblies therewith. Each set of stripper fingers hasassociated therewith a stationary member or upper tilt cam 162positioned to engage the vertical shank 99 of the stripper fingers andto pivot the shank and fingers thereon inwardly when the slides ltil andsupport brackets 10% raise to an extreme upper position (Fig. 13). Whenthe fingers 98 are pivoted inwardly, they are positioned to engage theupper edge of the bag container 23 with hooked ends 103 and to hold thebag 23 downwardly as the stripper fingers are lowered in the nextsequence of operations. A second set of stationary members or lower tiltcams 104 are positioned to engage the stripper finger assemblies at anextreme downwardly position and to tilt the stripper assembliesoutwardly, disengaging them from the bag container 23 (Fig. 14). Thestripper assemblies are then in a position to be moved upwardly for anew cycle of operation.

The stripper fingers 93' and the vertical supporting shanks 99 thereofare pivotally mounted on and are frictionally engaged with thesupporting bracket 100. Since they are in a frictional engagement theywill remain in the tilt position as shown in Fig. 14 after engagementwith the lower tilt cams MM until they reach the upper extremity oftheir movement, engaging the upper tilt cams 102 and being returned totheir original pivotal position.

Fig. 15 illustrates the frictional mounting of the stripper fingers ofthis invention. A plate 105 is main tained in a fixed position relativeto the supporting bracket 10th by a pin 1%. The shank 99 of the strippermember is sandwiched between and frictionally engaged with the members1% and 105. A compression spring 107 is mounted on a bolt 1% and therebyexerts a force increasing the friction applied against the shank 99. Theamount of friction between the shank 99 and the members 1M! and isadjustable by tightening a nut 166 on the spring bolt 1%. The pin 1%,extending through the members 199 and 105, serves as a stop to limit thepivotal motion of the fingers 98 in one direction (see Fig. 14). A pin110, extending through the shank 99 of the stripper fingers, providesa'second stop for limiting the pivotal motion in the other direction(see Fig. 13

The packaging machine, particularly illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, is adapted for use with a rather long cardboard carton andconsequently a long bag container to be inserted therein. Because of thelength of the bag container, it has been found that the strippingoperation can best be performed in a plurality of steps. As may be seenfrom Fig. 11, three sets of stripper fingers and accompanying apparatuspermit the stripping operation to be performed at three successivestations on the conveyer as the form 6 and the cardboard carton restbetween the intermittent movements.

The operation of inserting a bag 23 into a car-ton 5 is accomplishedprincipally by the action of the strippers 98 in the three station I, Iand K as previously described; but this insertion of the bag is startedat station I by raising the carton upwardly somewhat into a position forreceiving the bag. As the carton is moved around the conveyer 3 fromstation A through station H, it rests on a stationary rail 111 (seeFigs. and 18). At station I, the carton 5 moves onto a movable railsection 112 which lifts the carton during the conveyer dwell interval.When the conveyer moves following the dwell interval, the carton 5 movesfrom station I onto a second support rail 113 positioned at a higherlevel.

The operation of the carton lifting mechanism is best illustrated inFig. 29. The movable rail section, or carton lifter 112 is supported byan arm 114 which is pivoted on a stationary part of the machine frame ata point 115. The arm 114 constitutes one leg of a bell crank having asecond leg 116 supporting a cam roller 117. A spring 118 urges the arm116 to the right (Fig. 29) against a cam surface 119 on a verticallyreciprocating bar 120. The reciprocating movement of the cam' bar 120causes the bell crank 114, 116 to rock between two predeterminedpositions and causes the movable rail 112 to move between the level ofthe first rail 111 and the level of the second rail 113.

In station I the carton 5 is lifted and the bag container 23 is lowered,thereby commencing the operation of inserting the bag into the carton. AU-shaped guide member 121 is positioned at station I (see Fig. 29) toguide the bag 23 as it is lowered to assure that it is started properlyinto the carton 5. In the actual operation of the packaging machine theform 6 would be positioned directly above the carton 5; but for the sakeof clarity in showing the various parts in Fig. 29, the form 6 appearsslightly to the right of the carton 5.

During the insertion operation, the flaps of the carton must be heldopen to avoid interference with the bag liner 23. A pair of guide rails122 and 123 engage and depress the carton flaps as the cartons move onthe conveyer 3. Thus, the carton 5 is held open for reception of the bag23 therein.

The apparatus of this invention forms a bag container with a seamoverlapped and extending vertically along the front face thereof. As hasbeen previously mentioned, this arrangement is advantageous because ofthe simplicity of the heating and the chilling devices used therewithand because the heating and the chilling opera tions need not becompleted during single intervals of conveyer dwell, but may extend overas long an interval as may be necessary regardless of the conveyorspeeds and durations of the dwell intervals between the intermittcntconveyor movements.

An additional advantage in forming a bag container with a vertical seamrunning along the front face resides in the fact that a double thicknessof liner material in that seam gives greater strength to the formed bagand decreases the likelihood that the bag will be torn in the break-freeoperations and in the stripping operations. A further advantage residesin the fact that should the vertical seam be sealed in a defectivemanner, the bag liner will still'maintain sufficient stiffness to permitit to be stripped away from the form and inserted into the cardboardcarton, even though defective. Therefore, a defectively formed bag isnot as likely to jam the machine, necessitating a shutdown.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of partsfrom those disclosed herein without in any way departing from the spiritof the invention or sacrificing any of the attendant advantages thereof,provided, however, that such changes fall within the scope of the claimsappended hereto.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. In a packaging machine having a movable conveyer, apparatus forforming a bag container comprising an elongated rectilinear form havingtwo side faces,

a front face and a back face, means for supporting said form on theconveyor, said supporting means attaching to the top of said formthereby leaving the faces free from attachments, means associated withsaid conveyer for guiding a sheet of bag forming material into a position against a side face of the form, clamping means attached to saidconveyor or holding the material against the form, means positioned inspaced relation with the conveyer for wiping the material around thefacesof the form and for overlapping the material to establish a seamextending vertically along the front face of the form, heating meanspositioned adjacent to the conveyer for heating the overlapped seam,chilling means adjacent to the conveyer in a position subsequent to theposition of the heating means, said chilling means being operable tochill and bond the overlapped seam of material, a grooved indentationextending along the entire length of one of said faces and substantiallyparallel to the longitudinal axis of said body, and an elongatedbreakaway member slidably mounted in the grooved indentation along theentire length thereof, and means for sliding said breakaway member insaid grooved indentation relative to said form to break the bagcontainer loose from the form.

2. In a packaging machine having a conveyer, a form for developing a bagcontainer, said form comprising an elongated rectilinear body,supporting means attaching the upper portion of the body to the conveyerthereby permitting the lower portion to be free from attachments, saidrectilinear body having a grooved indentation extending along one entireface thereof and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axisthereof, and an elongated breakaway member slidably mounted in thegrooved indentation along the entire length thereof, and means forsliding said breakaway member in said grooved indentation relative tosaid form to break the bag container loose'from the form.

3. In a packaging machine having a movable conveyer, a form fordeveloping a bag container, said form comprising a substantiallyrectilinear body, supporting means attaching to the upper portion of theform body thereby permitting the lower portion to be free fromattachments for the forming of the bag container thereon, and breakawaymeans to break the formed bag free from the form, saidbreakaway meansincluding a strip insert slidably mounted in a groove in a face of therectilinear body, a foot plate attached to the strip insert and movabletherewith, and means positioned adjacent to the conveyer for engaging apart of the strip insert and for moving the strip insert and theattached foot plate relative to the form body for breaking the bagcontainer free from the form. I

4. In a packaging machine having a conveyer, a form for developing a bagcontainer, said form comprising a substantially rectilinear body,supporting means attaching the upper portion of the body to the conveyerthereby permitting the lower portion to be free from attachments, saidrectilinear body having a face including a grooved indentation extendingvertically and positioned intermediate between the edges of the face,and a breakaway mem- 13 her slidably mounted in the grooved indentationand having a surface fiush with the faceof the body, said breakawaymember being operable to move relative to the face and to break the bagcontainer loose from the form,

a the form being thickened along the intermediate position of thegrooved indentation with the breakaway member therein and being taperedto both sides adjacent to the breakaway member whereby a seam of the bagcontainer positioned along the surface of the breakaway member ispresented for heating and chilling operations in preference to otherparts of the bag container.

5. In a packaging machine having a conveyer, a form for developing a bagcontainer, said form comprising a substantially rectilinear body,supporting means attaching the upper portion of the body to the conveyerthereby permitting the lower portion to be free from attachments, saidrectilinear body having a grooved indentation along a face thereof, abreakaway member slidably mounted in the grooved indentation, the lowerextremity of the rectilinear body having a recessed space, a foot memberpositioned within the recessed space, said foot member being attached tothe breakaway member and movable therewith, whereby upward movement ofthe breakaway member and attached foot member breaks seam parts of thebag container free from said members and thence downward movement of themembers loosens the bag container from all parts of the form.

6. In a packaging machine having an intermittently movable conveyer,apparatus for forming a bag container, said apparatus comprising asubstantially rectilinear form attached to the conveyer and movabletherewith, said form having a front face, a rear face, a leading side, atrailing side and a bottom, said form having a strip insert slidablymounted in the front face, said form having a foot part attached to thestrip insert and movable therewith, guide members attached to theconveyer'in spaced relation to the form for guiding a sheet of bagforming material into a'position adjacent to the leading side of theform, a clamping device associated with the guide members for holdingthe sheet of material against the leading side of the form, a stationarybrush positioned adjacent to the conveyer for folding and wiping thesheet of material against the rear face of the form, a side folding 14-member mounted to move into close proximity with the form and to foldthe material forwardly against the trailing side of the form, a pair offront folding members mounted to move across the front face of the formfrom opposite sides thereof and thereby folding the material from bothsides across the front face and overlapping the material in a seamextending vertically and overlying the strip insert, a plurality ofbottom fold members positioned beneath the conveyer for tucking thelower portions of the material into overlapped folds against the bottomof the form and against the foot part, a front heating plate positionedadjacent to the conveyer and subsequent to the front folding members forheating the overlapped vertical seam, a front chilling plate positionedad- 15 jacent to the conveyer and subsequent to the front heating plate,said front heating plate and said front chilling plate being operable tobend the overlapped vertical seam of material, a bottom heating platepositioned beneath the conveyer and subsequent to the bottom foldmembers for heating the overlapped folds of material at the bottom ofthe form, a bottom chilling plate positioned beneath the conveyer andsubsequent to the bottom heating plate, said bottom heating plate andsaid bottom chilling plate being operable to bond the overlapped foldsat the bottom of the bag container, and a stationary cam positionedadjacent to the conveyer and subsequent to both of the chilling plates,said cam being operable to engage a part of the front strip insert andto move the strip insert together with the foot part thereby breakingthe bag container free from the form.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 3 r515,121 Hunt Feb. 20, 1894 1,481,757 Stokes Jan. 22, 1924 1,916,981Jones July 4, 1933 2,168,543 Vergobbi Aug. 8, 1939 2,172,375 GordonSept. 12, 1939 40 2,268,283 Harris et a1 Dec. 30, 1941 2,272,255Vergobbi Feb. 10, 1942 2,626,702 Basus Jan. 27, 1953 2,770,175 Earp Nov.13, 1956

